Just For One Night?
by ninz
Summary: After the end of season one: Tired of waiting for Derek to make his choice between her and his wife, Meredith spends a night with another man. But it doesn't make things easier. Will be MerDer. xover Without A Trace. Kinda. Please R
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Just One Night

**Summery:** After the end of season one: Derek hasn't made his decision, leaving Meredith wondering for how much longer she should wait. That's when she meets somebody. Will be MerDer later x-over Without A Trace. Kinda

**Disclaimer:** Not my characters. Not making money from this.

**Author's Notes:** I am actually a huge _Without A Trace_ fan, yet recently _Grey's Anatomy_ has caught my attention… so I started thinking: _what if my favourite characters could meet each other? How would they get along? _And this story was the result.

MerDer fans don't worry – I think they will get together eventually…

Enjoy the story and let me know if you like it!

**Huge Thanks To Marialisa for betaing this for me!!!**

**XXX**

_Loyalty._

What exactly does the word _loyalty_ mean?

Does it mean not doing something you really want to do – just because somebody else might get hurt?

I had a friend once who fancied her best friend's boyfriend for a long time but when he made a pass at her she said no. That's loyalty.

Now it's easy for me to say '_Yeah, she did the right thing'_, (especially as said best friend was me) but believe me, it's a lot harder if you're in the situation yourself.

And it's even harder if the person who has your loyalty has hurt you. I mean, imagine it; you're sad, hurt, and you feel betrayed, yet at the same time you're trying to be loyal, trying to take care of somebody else's feelings.

Isn't that a paradox?

No, it's not.

Not really.

It's more like really, really stupid.

XXX

"Dr. Grey, I need you to go down to the ER and help out there; they're short-staffed."

This one little order dramatically changed my day, not that I realised this at the time. I thought I was going to spend the last two hours of my shift admitting, treating, and releasing patients in the ER, then go home and get some sleep and try not to think about him. To be honest, this is about all my life has become recently.

But then things started to change.

It began when a doctor, who's name I don't know, gave me a file and pushed me towards an examination room. "Your Patient", he informed me. "Stab wound. He's an FBI agent; got hurt in the line of duty. The Paramedic who brought him in just called him cute so I guess you'll be more interested than I am." He smiled at me and left.

Confused about the explanation he had given me for handing that case to me, I stared at the door for a couple of moments before I pushed the door open and went in.

The Patient was a man in his mid-thirties, maybe a bit younger. He was sitting on the bed, pulling up his bloody shirt with one hand as he inspected the dressing the paramedic had put on his wound. I cleared my throat and he lifted his head to look at me.

Oh boy, that guy was gorgeous.

I almost walked out of the room again, but that would have been embarrassing… although I wasn't too sure that standing there with my mouth hanging open wasn't just as bad.

My patient just grinned at me.

It took me a moment but then I switched back into professional mode and put a smile on my face and introduced myself: "Hi. I'm Dr. Grey, I'm going to take a look at you."

He was still grinning. "Why not, you've been _staring_ at me since you entered the room."

"Don't think that makes you special, because that's the usual way I always greet my Patients", I shot back, relieved to have thought of an answer that didn't make me sound too pathetic.

"Why – to see if it's worth your time to treat them or whether you need to get somebody else to do it?"

"I see you've already got a good opinion of me."

"Sorry. I just meant that you look like a woman who can get anybody to do what she wants."

I couldn't suppress a grin at that. "I guess I should take that as a compliment. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take a look at your wound. Although I have to say, you seem in good shape for somebody who's just been stabbed."

"I'm tough", he said and removed his hands. "Feel free to look as much as you want." He leaned back, propping himself up on his arms.

I sighed and shook my head. "Would you mind unbuttoning your shirt for me, please?"

"Sure."

I expected another smart remark, but this time he held off. As I had asked, he started unbuttoning his shirt, revealing a nicely muscled torso which had me catching my breath for a moment.

I started doing my job, telling myself that I needed to stay professional; but it wasn't every day I got Patients that were this attractive. When I took off the bandage he winced a little, but when I saw the wound underneath I knew that it wasn't too bad. His assailant had caught him on the side, just below the rib-cage. It looked nasty, but there obviously was no major damage.

_Fortunately_, my mind added.

'_C'mon, concentrate!'_ I told myself. Aloud I said: "That's not as bad as I thought it would be. I'd say a couple of stitches, and maybe a few tests – just to be sure you're okay – and you'll be good as new. Oh – and you need a Tetanus shot, but that won't take too long. I'd say you should be out of here in two hours, three at the most."

He looked at me, suddenly not so happy anymore. "_Two hours_? Can't we skip those tests? I have to catch a flight back to New York that leaves in less than three hours time."

I shook my head. "You're not going to be on that plane. I'm sorry but we should make sure there isn't any damage we've missed." He pulled a face and – feeling guilty – I added: "Well, it's your decision but I would really advise you to…"

"Go out with me", he interrupted me.

"What?"

"Go out with me tonight and I'll cancel my flight and do the test you're suggesting."

"I… uh… it's… uh…" I stuttered, but then I pulled myself together. "That's not working. You can't blackmail me. It's your decision whether you have those tests or not, and all I can do is tell you that you should – for your own sake."

He wasn't listening just watched me, head cocked slightly to the left. I tried to ignore him as I started to stitch up his wound.

"You're doing this very well", he commented after a while. "Very gently as well."

I smiled. "I have done this before."

"I bet", he said.

When I finished he was still staring intently at me with those gorgeous brown eyes. He must know the effect they had on women – most of them at least.

Like me, for example.

"Well, I'm done here", I informed him.

He looked down at his side and back at me and grinned. "Nice job, Dr. Grey."

"Meredith", I corrected him and knew immediately that it probably had been a mistake, but knew just as quickly that I didn't care.

"Meredith, huh? I like that name", he said and held out his hand. "I'm Danny."

I took his hand and found myself staring into those eyes and felt my resistance start to crumble. The door opening behind me broke the mood and I quickly pulled my hand away.

"Are you done in here?" a nurse asked in a high-pitched voice. "Because we need the room."

"Yes", I said quickly, happy that I had let go of Danny's hand in time. The nurse left and I turned to face my Patient again. "Let's get this straight; I am _not_ going out with you and you _will_ take the tests I've ordered. Are we clear on that?"

He was still grinning. "Yes, Dr. Meredith. We are."

Shaking my head I left the room without another word. Once I knew he couldn't see my face I broke into a huge grin – he really had helped lighten my mood.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** Here's a short chapter... next one should be longer... Enjoy!

XXX

"What? You just let him go? Without getting his phone number?" Cristina stared at me, unbelievingly.

"Yes, I did", I said in a firm voice and stared back.

She shook her head, the expression on her face telling me how stupid she thought I was.

"What's going on?"

We both turned to see Alex heading in our direction. Before I could tell Cristina to keep her mouth shut, she already started speaking: "Meredith just turned down a date with a real hot guy…"

"What – that FBI agent?" Alex asked. He was grinning widely and I wanted to hit him. _How the hell could these things spread all over the hospital so quickly?_

"He's FBI?" Cristina asked. "You didn't tell me _that_…"

"Yes, he is and, yes, he's pretty hot, but I'll bet that he didn't listen to a word I said and that means he's probably already on a plane back to New York…"

"Or he's standing right behind you in the hospital corridor feeling very flattered that you think he's hot", a voice said and I turned around and found myself staring into Danny's eyes. He had that grin on his face again. I could feel Christina's and Alex's eyes boring into my back as they waited to see how I would react.

When I didn't move Danny reached into his pocket and fished out a card. "Here's my phone number in case you change your mind. Oh – and I _did_ listen to you and I had those tests – just so you know."

He walked away leaving me speechless for a moment. I looked at the name on the card – _Special Agent Danny Taylor_– and then back at where Danny had stood.

"So?" asked Cristina.

"I'm not going to call him", I said, but I made sure the card was safe inside my pocket.

"Why?" Cristina and Alex both wanted to know.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Wanting to end the conversation I took a deep breath and explained: "Because I'm not sure if one night with him is worth losing…" I stopped in mid-sentence, glancing at Alex. I had no idea how much he knew about me and Derek.

Luckily Izzy chose that moment to join us, taking Alex' attention away from me. Of course, she was in her usual bright mood and – _of course!_ – she had heard about _the hot FBI guy_: "I saw him when they released him a couple of minutes ago."

"He asked Meredith out", Cristina informed Izzy as I shot her an angry glance.

"Typical", Izzy said. "You always get the best men, and I bet you turned him down."

When I didn't answer, she pulled a face and said: "You did turn him down, didn't you?"

I nodded.

Izzy shook her head. "That's so typical – I mean – not only do you get the best looking men asking you out – you're not even interested. Meanwhile I can't find anyone….

"Hey – you can have me", Alex said waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Shut up", Izzy said, but the smile had returned to her face. She turned to me. "So why did you turn him down?"

"Because… you know why."

"You mean… because of…? That's stupid, really. I mean that guy is really hot!"

"Maybe, it's stupid, yes", I said, "but maybe I got his phone number – in case I change my mind…"

"I hope you will call him", Izzy's voice had a hint of envy in it. "And if you don't give me that number because _I will_."

"No, you won't" Alex said, quickly and put his arm around her shoulders and gently pushed her away from us. Izzy protested but only half-heartedly and if I hadn't been so busy figuring out what to do, I would have spend the next couple of minutes wondering what was going on between them. I looked at Cristina and our eyes met.

"So, you still haven't given up on McDreamy?" she asked.

I sighed: "I'm just trying to…"

But Cristina shook her head and walked away. "Spare me."

So there I was, standing in the corridor, all by myself again. Without realising it my hand started to slip into my pocket and close around the card Danny had given me – just to see if it was still there.

"What are you still doing here? Isn't your shift over?"

The voice made me jump. I turned around and found myself looking into Derek's eyes. Quickly, I removed my hand from my pocket and tried to find something to say. "Just… I was talking to my friends."

"Something interesting?"

_Damn!_

"Uh… nothing specific."

Derek gave me a look that told me he wasn't quite convinced. He had raised one brow and his eyes were fixed on the hand I had so hastily pulled from my pocket.

"Listen… I… uh… I really gotta get going."

"So, you have time to speak with them but not with me?"

I didn't know what to say so I remained silent.

"I hear you had an interesting Patient this afternoon", Derek continued, and for the second time that day I cursed the hospital grapevine. "FBI – and good-looking too, if you can believe what the nurses say."

"Yeah – so?"

"Was he your type?"

"No", I said – which was a lie.

"Okay... Good."

"Good."

"So, see you tomorrow?"

"Yes", I said and walked away quickly. _Good_ – was that all he had to say? I couldn't believe it. Suddenly I was boiling with anger. Who the hell did he think he was? I mean, for how much longer did he think I was going to wait for him?

I marched out of the hospital to the parking lot as I reached for my cell phone and started dialling the number. The call was answered after two rings.

"Taylor."

"Danny – it's Meredith. Which hotel are you staying at?"

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

I was standing and waiting in the lobby of the hotel Danny was staying in. He had been surprised when I had called him, but only for a moment, after that he had told me where he was staying and that I could come by any time.

So here I was.

"I barely believe my eyes – you're really here!"

I heard his voice behind me and turned around to see him walking towards me. He had changed into a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket and looked nothing like an FBI agent, but still very good. And of course, he was grinning at me.

"Said I would be here," I answered and grinned back.

"Yeah, but after you turned me down earlier I wasn't so sure", he said.

As he came closer I could see that his hair was still wet from a recent shower. I smiled and shrugged.

"So… what did he do?" Danny asked when I didn't say anything.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Your boyfriend. What did he do? To make you change your mind so suddenly."

For a moment I remained silent, staring at him in disbelief. Finally I managed to say: "I don't… have a boyfriend." Unfortunately my reaction had been too late and too hesitant for him to believe me.

"You don't?" Danny looked at me, one eyebrow raised.

I shook my head. "I wouldn't be here if I had a boyfriend."

"Yeah, _of_ _course_ you wouldn't", Danny said laughing, and I wanted to hit him but remembered just in time that he was injured and I'd better not. So I changed the subject:

"Well, where shall we go?"

"I don't know, you're the one who lives in this city so you get to make the decision."

"Okay, then I suggest we go and get a bite to eat, then we could catch a movie and go to a club afterwards."

"Oh – seems like you got it all planned out", he said, grinning again and put an arm around my shoulders as we started walking towards the exit. He smelled nice.

After walking silently for a while he let his arm fall and looked at me. "So… honestly – what did he do?"

I stopped walking. "You really want to go out with me although you think I've got a boyfriend?"

Danny shrugged. "Yes. I mean… going out doesn't mean you have to cheat on him you know… and with the plans you've made for tonight it doesn't sound like… well…"

He couldn't finish the sentence because I grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him close and kissed him. He was obviously surprised but he responded to the kiss and wrapped his arms around me.

After a while I broke free to ask: "Do you believe me now?"

Danny just nodded and kissed me again. We moved closer, every inch of our bodies touching now, and in between the kisses he whispered into my ear: "Now, that I know you don't have a boyfriend how about we skip the dinner and movie part and go straight to my room?"

"I don't live far from here, and my room mates are both out tonight so I think we should go there. I also have a well stocked refrigerator in case we'll get hungry later…"

I wanted to say more but Danny put his finger on my lips and shook his head. "Stop talking", he said before he kissed me again.

Although I wanted nothing more than to be alone with Danny in my bedroom with the curtains closed, there was this little part inside of me that said what I was doing wasn't right. And that was the reason why I had suggested going to my place; despite the kissing I still wasn't sure how far I wanted to go. The drive to the house gave me some time to think, but by the time we arrived I still hadn't decided whether I should listen to my body or my mind.

In the end it was Danny who made the choice. The moment the front door closed he grabbed me by my shoulders and pulled me close for another kiss, even more passionate than before, and I soon forgot my doubts.

Danny's hands quickly found their way underneath my shirt and that was when I finally stopped thinking. Instead I did my best to remove his jacket and t-shirt until he winced. He pulled away from me and cursed, then looked at me and said: "Sorry."

"No – _I_ should be sorry", I said, feeling guilty. "I should have known better than to do this."

"Nah – it's alright. It's not like I didn't do my best to convince you."

"But I'm your doctor – I should be telling you to lie down and get some rest and…"

"You're not my doctor anymore", Danny interrupted me. "Right now you're my date."

"But…"

"Look, I'm OK, you don't need to worry about me…..unless you don't want this to go any further? If you don't its fine, you can tell me, I'd rather know the truth'

"I…" I sighed. For a moment I thought of Derek then I remembered the conversation we'd just had, and suddenly the anger was back.

The thing about loyalty is that it's very hard to tell when it turns into stupidity, but in this case I was certain that to keep thinking of Derek and to turn Danny down once again would surely be stupid.

Well... it _would_ – wouldn't it?

"I want you to stay", I finally said.

We didn't even make it to the bedroom. We kissed again and a few moments later I found myself on my back on the small couch in the living-room with Danny on top of me. It wasn't how I expected it to be – not as gentle, but still long and slow and so _so_ good.

Afterwards, Danny dropped onto the floor; the couch was too small for both of us to lie next to each other. We lay still for a minute or two catching our breath then Danny sat up and leaned against the couch, his face turned towards me; our eyes met and I smiled.

I couldn't remember ever having had a one-night stand when I was completely sober, but – with Derek pushed to the back of my mind – so far I didn't regret it.

"You okay?" Danny finally broke the silence that had fallen between us.

"Yes, I definitely am!" I said. "But I'm starving now. What about you? Are you hungry, too?"

"Can't say I'm not – but before we eat I think we should straighten things out between us."

I couldn't help grinning. "You don't seem like the type who wants to talk about things like this."

He shrugged. "We don't have to. I just wanted to make sure we both agree with this being a one-night only thing."

I didn't answer.

"You do agree, don't you?"

Rolling my eyes I sighed and said: "Yes, of course I do. I mean, even if I didn't you're gonna be back in New York by this time tomorrow and I'll never see you again. But that doesn't mean, we can't enjoy the rest of the night, does it?"

Danny just grinned.

We made pizza and took it up into my bedroom, sat on the bed and ate. I found out that he was very good company not just for sex but also for amusing conversation. We spent at least two or three hours just talking, mostly about our jobs. I quickly noticed that Danny seemed reluctant to talk much about his personal life, but it didn't matter because he had so many interesting stories to tell about his work. We talked and talked and as the night proceeded it felt more and more like we had known each other forever – and in between all the talking we had some more fantastic sex.

It was a wonderful night and just what I needed. I knew I had to be at work by 7am but at 1am I was still wide awake, too excited to fall asleep. The conversation had died away and from his deep even breathing I knew that Danny had fallen asleep. For a moment I was annoyed but then I decided to let him sleep for a while. After all, he had been stabbed today – as his doctor I shouldn't have let him do anything else other than sleep in the first place. With a sigh I pulled out the blanket from underneath Danny so I could cover us both with it and then lay back against my pillow to watch him sleep for a while.

He was lying on his good side, looking very cute– and I wondered how it could be that I felt so comfortable around him when I had only known him for a couple of hours. At some point I must have fallen asleep too, because the next time I looked at my alarm it was three a.m.

For the rest of the night I slept poorly, waking up every half an hour and every time my guilty conscious would surface again.

The alarm went off at half past five. I always set it half an hour before I have to get up, but usually I stay in bed until the last possible moment; this morning, however, I jumped right out of bed, happy that I didn't have to try to fall back asleep again.

"What time is it?" I heard Danny's sleepy voice.

I told him and added: "I'm sorry, but I have to go to work soon."

"Well, I guess that means, I'm getting up now…" He sat up and rubbed his eyes. His hair was sticking out in every direction, but he still looked cute and I thought it really wasn't fair that men could look so good after they had just woken up.

"I need to shower now", I informed him. "If you want to, you can wait and I'll drop you off at the hotel on my way to work."

Danny shook his head. "No, I'll go now. " He smiled and ran a hand through his messy hair but it didn't really help to tame it. "I had a lot of fun last night."

"So did I", I assured him.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, then Danny got up and began gathering his clothes together. When he was finally dressed he came towards me and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. "I'll have to go now. Thanks for last night Meredith."

I grinned, ignoring the disappointment inside me that he was going to leave. "Next time you're in Seattle you know where you can find me."

Danny grinned back. "How could I forget?"

I made an attempt to walk him to the door but he shook his head. "You get your shower; I'll find my way out." When he was gone I couldn't help watching from the window as he headed down the porch steps and then along the street. He was on the phone, probably calling for a cab. I watched him for a while then turned to go until I saw another figure standing on the sidewalk opposite my house.

It was a man and he was watching Danny – just like I was. But then suddenly he turned his head to look up at me and our eyes met.

_Derek._

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes:** Thank you for your reviews – it's pleasure to read them and they keep me going (even if only slowly – sorry for that by the way…)

Please keep reviewing – I really like it a lot!

XXX

I was shaking with nerves as I walked down the stairs and towards the front door. Reaching for the handle, I tried to think of something to I could say to Derek to explain this, but I couldn't think of anything.

I opened the door to find Derek right in front of me. He looked at me, his expression unreadable. For a minute or two we just stood there, staring at each other, then finally I opened my mouth to say something – _just anything!_ – but Derek was faster.

"I thought he wasn't your type", he said. His voice sounded very calm, but in his eyes I could see that what he had seen had hurt him.

But a part of me was still angry at him and I couldn't stop myself from saying: "What's that to you?"

Derek took his time but finally shook his head and answered. "Nothing, I guess. Not any more at least."

I sighed, feeling guilty and angry at the same time. At that moment I wished I could turn back time, but there was nothing I could do – it had happened – and anyway, it was partly Derek's fault as well.

Letting out a deep sigh I broke the silence to ask impatiently: "Derek, what do you want?"

Our eyes met again. "Well… actually I came to tell you that I chose _you_. That I want to be with you and that I'm ready to sign my divorce papers. That's why I'm here."

"_Now?_"

"My shift just ended and I knew you'd be about to leave for your next shift and so…"

"I don't mean that", I interrupted him. "I mean why did you have to make this decision now? Is it because you were afraid that somebody else could be interested in me? That – _maybe_ – I would not…"

"Meredith…"

"… Derek, let me finish. Were you afraid that I wasn't going to wait forever and that I might find somebody else some day?"

Lowering his gaze to my feet, Derek was silent for a moment before he admitted: "Well, I guess it was part of it." His expression became blank again, but then he lifted his head and knitted his brows. "Well, whatever. I don't think it's important anymore." He turned to go but I held him back.

"Derek…"

"Yeah?"

"Why now?"

He just shrugged and started to walk away. When he reached the bottom of the stairs he turned around once more. "Is it serious? I mean; you and that guy – whatever his name is – is it serious?"

"I…" I didn't know what to say. Finally I settled for: "I don't know…"

But Derek wasn't listening anymore, so I closed the door. Suddenly I felt very exhausted; my legs gave way, I slowly slid down against the door. I felt worse than I had in a long time, and desperately wanted to cry, but no tears would come.

I sat there until I heard the key in the lock. A moment later, somebody tried to open the door. I stood up. It was Izzy, returning from her night shift. She looked confused for a moment– probably because she expected me to be gone by now, then she must have realised what had happened. She was about to say something, but I broke the silence before she could:

"Great. Wonderful advice you gave me. Thanks."

Knitting her brows, Izzy asked: "What do you mean?"

"_Call him_ – that's what you said, right? _Call him, before I do_."

"So? – Wasn't it good?"

"No it wasn't good. It was _great_ – until Derek arrived and told me that he was ready to leave his wife and that he wanted to be with me. Oh – and that he knew about me and…"

Now Izzy looked even more confused. "Did he? I mean, does McDreamy know that you… I mean, _you have really called him?_ That FBI agent?"

I was close to losing it. "Yes, I have, and – before you ask – the sex was good, actually it was fantastic, but Derek arrived and saw him leave and now, I guess, any chances of me and Derek being together has gone."

"I'm sorry", Izzy said in a pitying tone that made me even angrier.

"Yeah, you're sorry. If only I hadn't listened to you and everybody else…"

"Hey, that was your own decision!"

"Yeah, right!" I shouted. "You know what, I don't think I will discuss this any longer. I'm off to work now." I opened the door and marched out wearing the sweat pants and t-shirt that I had slipped into that morning. I hadn't even showered yet, but I didn't care.

I drove to work, not caring about the speed limit knowing that I was already late. I'd had a feeling that it was going to be a hard day, especially considering how it had started, and that I hadn't slept very well either; and I was right – it was.

I knew that everybody had noticed that I wasn't in a good mood, but nobody asked any questions – and I was grateful for that.

Around noon, a nurse came up to me. "Dr. Grey?"

"Yeah?"

"There's a man at the reception. He's asked for you. Do you have a moment to go down and see him?"

"Did he tell you his name?"

"No, but he said it's important. Could you please go and see him?" she repeated her question.

I sighed. "Okay, I'll go now. Thanks."

I had a bad feeling about it – and when I reached the reception and I saw the tall, dark-haired figure waiting for me, I recognized him at once, even although he had his back to me. My instinct told me to turn around and walk away, but he turned and saw me.

"Meredith…"

"Danny?"

**TBC**


End file.
